A bipartisan group of lawmakers has proposed allowing casinos to open in Kentucky so the state can glean gambling tax revenue for its ailing pension systems.

Similar pieces of legislation have failed in recent years, but supporters think that the pension crisis and lackluster revenue from taxes might make lawmakers more willing to roll the dice.

Rep. Jerry Miller, a Republican from Louisville and one of the bill’s sponsors, said the proposal is more palatable than a tax increase.

“It gives us new revenue we do not have now,” Miller said. “Frankly, I do not gamble, but I’m very aware of the pension issue.”

In past legislative sessions, expanded gambling has mostly been carried by Democrats.

Former Gov. Steve Beshear made it a major part of his platforms during both of his gubernatorial races, though the proposal has never been considered in the Republican-led Senate.

This year’s House Bill 229 is sponsored by seven Republicans and one Democrat.

Supporters estimate the proposal would yield between $250 million and $1 billion in the first year of expanded gambling.

Sen. Morgan McGarvey, a Democrat from Louisville, said the bill will help avoid “bleak” budgets like the one currently being pieced together by lawmakers.

“This gives the people of Kentucky the choice whether they want to collect the car loads of cash that are going across our bridges on a daily basis and paying for roads, bridges and schools in Indiana and Ohio,” McGarvey said.

Because the bill would amend the state’s constitution, it would require three-fifths of each legislative chamber to vote in favor of it — Gov. Bevin would not be able to veto it. If passed, a majority of Kentuckians would have to vote in favor of it during a referendum on Election Day.

If the measure passes all of those hurdles, the legislature would then have to pass “enabling legislation” that would set specific details like how many and where casinos could open.

This is one of a handful of bills that would seek new revenue for the state’s pension systems, including one that would get tax revenue from legalized marijuana sales.

Related Content

State lawmakers are once again considering a bill that would scale back how much homeowners with solar panels get reimbursed for putting energy back into the electrical grid, though the legislation has stalled for the time-being.

Electric utilities are required to give Kentucky households credits that can be used on future power bills for generating excess energy. Currently those credits are equal to retail price of energy, but under House Bill 277, the credits would be reduced to the wholesale price of energy.

Kentucky’s top public safety official says the state’s prisons will run out of space by May 2019, possibly forcing the early release of thousands of nonviolent inmates as the state continues to grapple with the effects of a nationwide opioid epidemic.

Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary John Tilley told state lawmakers Tuesday the state’s prison population is expected to grow by more than 4,400 inmates over the next decade. His comments come as lawmakers are deciding how to spend taxpayer money over the next two years.

A Kentucky lawmaker has proposed a bill that would strip state funding from cities and state universities that have so-called “sanctuary” policies that restrict cooperation with federal immigration enforcers.

Rep. Lynn Bechler, a Republican from Marion, said the legislation would target immigrants who are in the country illegally and the institutions that provide them with safe haven.

In this week’s episode of Kentucky Politics Distilled, a school shooting at Marshall County High School sparks debate in Frankfort over whether and how state government can try to prevent gun violence.

On Tuesday morning, a student opened fire on his classmates, killing two teenagers and injuring more than a dozen others. The incident has drawn sympathy from across the country and around the world.

And on the lighter side, what do purple cows have to do with the fractured politics of the Kentucky House of Representatives? Listen to this week’s wrap up with capitol reporter Ryland Barton.